Where Will You Be in Five Years?

I suggest to readers of my new book in progress Brave New Worldview that they,” think about how you would have responded in 1990 if someone told you that in just 20 years amateur websites would have put many newspapers out of business; cells phones would have far more bandwidth than your 1990 PC; that we'd be watching 60" flat screen TVs light enough for one person to carry; that 25 billion pages of information could be searched in less than a quarter of a second; and that getting lost would be a thing of the past thanks to your cell phone’s connection to a completely free network of  global navigation satellites.”

I was making the point that the scale and pace of change is getting beyond our ability to predict it. To appreciate that point from a media and marketing perspective and over an even shorter time horizon, think about these several items: how many people in 2000 had heard of Google, which was incorporated out of a garage in Pala Alto just 18 months earlier?  Facebook, now the most accessed site on the planet did not exist until 2004, the year of Googol’s IPO. YouTube was still a year from going online; movies and television 2000 on cell phones were just around the corner.

Had much of what is in our lives today, which we’re already taking for granted, been predicted to be here in fewer than 10 years, many would have said, “You’re talking about the future, buddy.” Well, the future has arrived. It’s here now, at your doorstep.

My question is, “Are you ready for new developments in media and marketing that will take place over the next 10 years – or less? “

If you’re in some aspect of media and marketing and do not have at least one competent person in your department (or small company) thinking about the future between now and the next five years you could already be headed for trouble.

These thoughts were inspired by an article in the current Bloomberg’s BusinessWeek, “Twitter, Twitter, Little Stars.” It is a good indicator of where marketing is going in its fickle relationships with media. Will the CMO (whose average time in office is now less than two years) be replaced by a Chief Social Networks Officer?

It’s anyone’s guess as to what media and marketing will look like fire years from now as well as the jobs within the.The only way to play it safe is to save enough time and attention out of your day to look toward the horizon and try to see what’s coming over it even if you don’t know what it is at first or how it will affect you and your organization. Perhaps a monthly – or better, a bimonthly staff meeting over the treat of a catered lunch would give you the opportunity of tapping the wisdom of the crowd in your department or small organization to get a better idea of the future that is now fast approaching your doorstep.

Don't let the future run over you. Help invent it!

Comments

[Carroll Woodard]

Your article made me think of all the technology changes since 1950.

The baby boomers have probably seen more changes in technology than any other generation.

I look forward to see what happens in the next five years. I'm sure it will look nothing like today.

[joared]

All the change is truly mind boggling. I can't even begin to fathom what the next ten years will bring. I want the car/plane and hope it will be within my financial reach during my active life span. I still am concerned about how they'll establish air highways with so many of us so we don't crash into each other.

[Mark Johnson]

Thanks for sharing this information with me. The article was extremely informative and I look forward to reading more soon. Thanks again, Mark

[Bill]

Change seems like it's accelerating; however, I'm not sure much of this change is good :)

For example, big screen TV. Great. Now I have even more reason to sit on my a$$, get fat, and die of cardiovascular disease.

It all boils down to balance, I suppose.

[Karn Evans]

What a great read. I completely agree with everyhting you have said. The old ways of marketing are now dead the only way to survive now is to be different and innovative.

As Seth Godin says... "Safe is now risky and Risky is now Safe..."

Thanks,
Karn